The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking

Amazon.com
With Eric Clapton's valuable assistance, Waters takes the concept album to new heights on this 1984 masterpiece, his first LP after leaving Pink Floyd. Each of the 12 songs represents a scene of a surreal dream (nightmare?), and Waters brilliantly captures the pendulum of emotions. Periods of serenity and clarity accompany frenzied and distorted passages of chaos and moments of great irony and humor. Along the journey, Waters confronts murderous Arabs in Germany, a steamy sexual liaison, mundane family life, bikers, truckers, housewives, and strangers. He sucks you into his vision by blurring the lines between what's real and what's part of the dream. Meanwhile, his use of recurring themes gives the work cohesion. As the mood shifts, Clapton's guitar perfectly accents Waters's story, whether with fiery electric explosions or delicate acoustic touches. -- Marc Greilsamer

The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking,Roger Waters,Sony,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop

The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking

Average customer rating:

Brilliant but...
Really great
A Masterpiece...If You Remember to Keep it Simple
The pros and cons of The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking
The Pros And Cons Of Roger's "Pros And Cons"

The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking
Roger Waters
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

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Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000025ZF
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

4:30 AM (Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad)
4:33 AM (Running Shoes)
4:37 AM (Arabs With Knives And West German Skies)
4:39 AM (For The First Time Today, Part 2)
4:41 AM (Sexual Revolution)
4:47 AM (The Remains Of Our Love)
4:50 AM (Go Fishing)
4:56 AM (For The First Time Today, Part 1)
4:58 AM (Dunroamin, Duncarin, Dunlivin)
5:01 AM (The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking Part 10)
5:06 AM (Every Strangers Eyes)
5:11 AM (The Moment Of Clarity)

Amazon.com

With Eric Clapton's valuable assistance, Waters takes the concept album to new heights on this 1984 masterpiece, his first LP after leaving Pink Floyd. Each of the 12 songs represents a scene of a surreal dream (nightmare?), and Waters brilliantly captures the pendulum of emotions. Periods of serenity and clarity accompany frenzied and distorted passages of chaos and moments of great irony and humor. Along the journey, Waters confronts murderous Arabs in Germany, a steamy sexual liaison, mundane family life, bikers, truckers, housewives, and strangers. He sucks you into his vision by blurring the lines between what's real and what's part of the dream. Meanwhile, his use of recurring themes gives the work cohesion. As the mood shifts, Clapton's guitar perfectly accents Waters's story, whether with fiery electric explosions or delicate acoustic touches. -- Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant but..........2007-06-01

...ain't it about time we got some frickin' remasters of Roger's stuff??!? The artwork and liner notes are as fuzzy as the music is!!! What's up mego music corporation?!? What about a remaster with the 7" and 12" b-sides and stuff??? LONG OVER DUE!!!

Really great.......2007-05-21

I am a fan of Roger Waters, I just love this album. If you like "The Wall" and "The final cut", you will love for sure this cd. This is a conceptual album, so the same melody is repeated frequently. You will recognize some riffs of "The Wall" and this is no surprise, there is a rumour going on that both concept has been composed at the same time.
Both projects have been proposed to the rest of the band (Pink Floyd) and the other guys chosed to go on with "The Wall". After Roger left the band, he decided to record the other project he had in mind few years before. Erci Clapton is doin a great job at the guitar (this ain't a surprise !) I have the chance to meet Roger during the "Radio K.A.O.S. tour and he put is autograph on my "Pros and Cons" cd so this is a real keeper for me I can tell !

A Masterpiece...If You Remember to Keep it Simple.......2006-11-13

I won't take up your time trying to explain all the various nuances of 'The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking' but in a sense, don't try to think of this album as a mixed-up nightmare but rather a dream of a middle-aged man going through a mid-life crisis. Many musicians have written about mid-life crisis before (Pete Townsend's 'Slit Skirts' immediately comes to mind for some strange reason...but I digress).

The story essentially takes the main character through a dream which really turns into an odyssey. The trip only takes a short period of time (as dreams always seem to do...accomplishing so much in such a short amount of time) which is why I believe Roger Waters uses the dream sequences to pull everything together. The songs seem disjointed until you realize that dreams really are the same way (disjointed but understandable most of the time). The crisis the character goes through would be considered normal for a middle-aged man. Man goes through a marriage, with a job and kids, house in the suburbs, etc..., then starts to wonder if that's all there is.

Then comes the usual things used to replace that middle-aged curiosity...hot cars, fast women and not to be forgotten ... the guilt for even thinking about it. The character realizes that he is like every other person in the world, someone looking for answers and meaning in life. He realizes, in the end, that it becomes all about how you live your life. The answer, arrived at 'The Moment of Clarity', is fleeting (like so many dreams). For me, the answer is...it's not what value other people bring to your life, but rather what you yourself bring to the table that really matters.

If you keep the themes simple, you will find this album to be a great record of a part of the human condition. And you'll find this an album to listen to from time to time...finding new understandings along the way.

The pros and cons of The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking.......2006-09-01

Awesome album!! For those of you who don't know too much about Pink Floyd, this is from the mastermind behind the "stories" of Floyd's songs. Roger wrote great lyrics while David supplied the awesome guitar riffs. This solo album of Waters is a must have of any Pink Floyd fan. I strongly recommend it!

The Pros And Cons Of Roger's "Pros And Cons".......2006-08-28

Having said goodbye to Pink Floyd with "The Final Cut," Roger Waters kicked off his solo career with 1984's "The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking," a concept album about a sleeping man's journey through various dreams and nightmares (Roger also did "Music From The Body" back in 1970, but that was a collaboration with Ron Geesin). Like other reviewers have said before me, "Hitchhiking" is an album that I feel very two-sided about. On one hand, I appreciate Roger's ambitiousness with this work. It has it's powerful moments, and it also has two really great songs on it: the catchy title track, and the pounding rock of "Sexual Revolution." But Waters' overabundance of lyrics---reportedly 370 lines worth---is just too much at times, and much of it is rambled or screamed. With all those words, rambling and screaming, the music is hardly given any room to breathe (even special guest star Eric Clapton isn't allowed any *great* guitar parts to play here). Still, you gotta admire Waters' bravery with "The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking." At the very least, it's an interesting album with an intriguing concept (and a nice cover, too---I gotta be honest!), but I think Roger could've made "Hitchhiking" a whole lot better with some much-needed musical and lyrical polishing. But being his very first solo album without Pink Floyd, perhaps Roger didn't want any additional help or advice in the composing department. Luckily for Waters, he would get right back on track with his next release, the excellent "Radio K.A.O.S." As it stands, "The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking" is a decent, acceptable Roger Waters album. You may not play it all that much, but it's still worth having.

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